MLB notes: McCarthy released from hospital

This is a 2012 photo of Brandon McCarthy of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. This image reflects the Oakland Athletics active roster as of Feb. 27, 2012 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) ASSOCIATED PRESS

This is a 2012 photo of Brandon McCarthy of the Oakland Athletics baseball team. This image reflects the Oakland Athletics active roster as of Feb. 27, 2012 when this image was taken. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) ASSOCIATED PRESS

Oakland Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy was released from a Bay Area hospital on Tuesday, less than a week after getting hit in the head by a line drive and undergoing surgery. And he said he plans to return to baseball once he returns to full strength in the coming months.

The A's say Dr. Peter Weber, the neurologist who performed the surgery at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, and team physician Dr. Allan Pont agreed "McCarthy had made an excellent recovery and could be safely released from the hospital."

The 29-year-old McCarthy underwent two hours of surgery late Wednesday after a ball hit by the Angels' Erick Aybar struck the right side of his head. He experienced an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture.

"From the bottom of our hearts, (my wife) Amanda and I want to thank everyone who was involved in responding to and treating my injury," McCarthy said in a statement released by the A's.

"So many of us are the same age," Ryan Zimmerman explained. "We have so many guys who are in the age 25 to 30 that have been in the big leagues for a while, which helps, too, because once you get out here you're stable and can do some things."

Morse agreed that age has a lot to do with it, but suggested that proposals might also be contagious.

"A lot of us, we've been on this team together for a while now, our girlfriends and fiancees are friends, so maybe it's like a domino effect," said Morse, who added that his main concern is "not running out of booze."

Stammen shared a similar sentiment.

"As long as she shows up, I'm okay with it," he said.

Short hops

■ Rangers closer and New York Giants fan Joe Nathan paid off a bet with teammate and Dallas Cowboys fan Mike Adams by donning a full Tony Romo uniform, including pads and football cleats, during the Rangers' batting practice before Tuesday night's game against Cleveland. It was the Rangers' first home game since the Cowboys' season-opening 24-17 victory at the Giants last Wednesday.

■ The White Sox switched the time of their Sept. 25 game against the Indians from 7:10 p.m. (CDT) to 1:10 p.m. to avoid a conflict with Yom Kippur. The White Sox said they reached an agreement with the Indians to change the time after fans expressed their concern about the conflict with the Jewish holiday. The holiday begins at sundown that day.

■ Going into Tuesday's games, Padres third baseman Chase Headley had 27 homers and an NL-leading 102 RBI, career bests in both categories. His previous bests were 12 homers and 64 RBI in 2009, his first full big-league season.

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